Automatic primer cap feeder for shotgun shell reloaders



1965 1'. J. BACHHUBER 3,

AUTOMATIC PRIMER CAP FEEDER FOR SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADERS Filed March 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR. 7 /sopaesd BflCHH B Q AM, AYMYW Dec. 21, 1965 J. BACHHUBER 3,224,318

AUTOMATIC-PRIMER CAP FEEDER FOR SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1964 INVENTOR 72 5000251 flaw/ vase JrrdBNf/f,

United States Patent (3 3,224,318 AUTOMATIC PRIMER CAP FEEDER FOR SHOT- GUN SHELL RELOADERS Theodore J. Bachhuber, 725 Dayton St., Mayville, Wis. Filed Mar. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 349,686 Claims. (Cl. 8638) This invention relates to an automatic primer cap feeded for shotgun shell reloaders.

The loader fragmentarily illustrated herein is of the construction shown more particularly in my co-pending application entitled Shotgun Shell Reloader and filed January 20, 1964, Serial No. 338,896. However, the invention herein disclosed is usable on other types of loaders, the modifications required, if any, being minor.

The invention contemplates storage of a stack of primer caps in a hopper tube held by an appropriate bracket on the carriage of a shotgun shell reloader. The reloader desirably has a base provided with pockets to receive successive primer caps from the hopper and the arrangement is such that a primer cap placed in the appropriate pocket enters the head of a used shell when the used shell from which the original cap has been displaced is pressed downwardly over the new cap.

The hopper is unitarily equipped with an escapement mechanism which is actuated automatically in the reciprocation of the tool carriage or work support of the reloader, the arrangement being such that as the carriage descends, it causes an escapement pawl pivotally mounted on the hopper to engage the work-supporting base of the reloader and thereby to bring about the release of the lowermost cap in the hopper. Because of the preferred angular disposition of the hopper, the next successive cap is supported by the deposited cap in a position which provides angular clearance into which a finger of the escapement pawl re-enters on the withdrawing stroke of the tool carrier or the work support of the reloader. The re-entry of the finger into the hopper beneath the first successive cap provides support for that cap and all caps superimposed thereon in the hopper until the finger is again displaced in a subsequent operation of the carriage. Thus an escapement operates with but one moving part.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective fragmentarily illustrating a shotgun shell reloader equipped with a hopper in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective on a slightly enlarged scale showing the carriage and hopper in a position in which the escapement pawl has been actuated.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail view in side elevation showing the escapement pawl in cap-supporting position, parts of the hopper being broken away.

FIG. 4 is a view partially in side elevation and partially in section showing the parts in the position of FIG. 2 in which the escapement pawl has been cammed axially to release a single cap.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail view showing a preferred arrangement for the temporary support of caps during loading or transportation, parts being broken away.

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective showing a fragmentary illustrated hopper in association with a hopper loading jig and tool preferably employed.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view in plan showing a portion of the jig of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view taken in section on the line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view taken in section on the line 99 of FIG. 7.

The base 10 supports an upright column 12 which carries a work support 14 having a channel 16 to receive the heads or ferrule portions of shells to be reloaded. As

explained in the companion application above identified, a notch at 18 permits the rims of the cartridges to be introduced into the channel 16 to be advanced circuitously throughout the channel by a manually operated feeder 20 which has notches at 22 successively registering with the receiving notch 18 of the work support 14.

In the bottom of the channel 16 of the work support is a recess 24 in which the priming caps are receivable for the recapping operation. An empty used shell is forced downwardly onto the cap by a ram 26 mounted in the tool carriage 30. The tool carriage reciprocates vertically on the column 12 to and from the work support 14 and is held in a normally elevated position by a compression spring 32.

Successive caps are delivered to the recess 24 by means of pockets 34 in the several arms 36 of the feeder annulus 20. The new caps are delivered into the successive pockets 34, in accordance with the present invention, by means of an escapement-controlled tubular hopper 40 in which the several caps 42 are stacked, one upon another, as clearly appears in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The tool carriage 30 is reciprocated downwardly by a lever 44 having a handle 46. It moves upwardly on column 12 subject to the bias of the spring 32. A bifurcated lever 44 is pivoted at 48 and connected by links 50 with carriage 30 so that when the lever moves from the position of FIG. 1 to the position of FIG. 2, the carriage moves downwardly to engage the lower end of the hopper tube 40 with one of the arms 36 of the feeder annulus in registry with one of the openings 34 therein, as shown in FIG. 4.

The hopper tube 40 is carried by a bracket 54 from the carriage 30 and is preferably obliquely inclined as clearly appears in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower extremity of the tubular hopper being correspondingly beveled, it being preferred that it seat flat on the upper surface of the arm 36. By way of example and not by way of limitation, it may be stated that a hopper tube about 30 to 35 inches in length will store an adequate number of caps.

A collar 56 carried by the hopper provides a pintle pin 58 on which the escapement pawl 60 is pivoted for limited oscillation from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 4. As a matter of convenience, the pintle 58 may comprise one end of a detent arm 62 which has a hooked extremity 64 adapted in the FIG. 5 position of the parts to enter a slot 66 in the side wall of the hopper for the temporary support of the column of caps in the hopper during the filling and transportation of the loader hopper and the manipulation thereof preliminary to its installation in operative position on the reloader. As shown in FIG. 3 the detent 62 has been swung aside to an inoperative osition, thus transferring the weight of the column of caps 42 to the finger 68 at the lower end of the escapement pawl 60. A notch 70, best shown in FIG. 4 and illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 3, receives the finger 68 in the elevated position of carriage 30 so that the caps above it are retained in the hopper.

When the carriage 30 descends, the cam surface 72 at the lower end of the escapement pawl 60 engages the spring seat washer 74 (which has the incidental function of holding down the annular feeder 36 for the cartridges in the course of being reloaded). When the cam surface 72 engages washer 74 the escapement lever 60 is forced aside to retract its finger 68 from the notch 70 and from the path of the lowest cap 42, thereby permitting this cap to drop through the opening 34 onto the channel 16.

Because of the oblique position of the hopper, the discharged cap is at an angle to the axis of the hopper and to the other caps stacked therein. This clearly appears in FIG. 4. Thus there is an angular clearance at 76 between the discharged cap and the next higher cap. As

the carriage moves upwardly under the bias of spring 32 the escapement lever 60 is caused by its spring 78 to resume the position shown in FIG. 5, its finger 68 re-entering the hopper beneath that cap which is now lowermost in the stack. The discharged cap now rests on the bottom of channel 16 and advances with the annular feeder 20 until it drops into the recess 24 in a position to be received into the ferrule of a shell forced downwardly over it by the ram 26.

As a convenient means of loading the hopper 40, I provide a pan-shaped jig 80 on which the caps 42 are placed with their rim ends 82 down. A notch 84 in the end margin 86 of the pan-shaped jig 80 receives a tool 88 which is in the form of a strap that has a hooked end 90. By oscillating tool 88 in notch 84 and by drawing it through the notch, the several caps can be pressed into alignment against the side wall 92 and pulled along the side wall toward a delivery opening 94 near the corner of the jig. The several caps are forced to fall successively through the opening 94 into the flared mouth 96 of the tubular hopper 40. A bifurcated bracket 98 on the underside of the jig receives the flared mouth of the hopper and holds it in registry with the hole 94 to receive the caps. The arcuate margin of the hole 94 (best shown in FIG. 7) tends to support each successive cap until it registers with the tubular hopper. Consequently, the caps tend to fall into the hopper in the desired upright position with their flanged ends 82 lowermost. The jig has a downwardly embossed saddle-shaped offset 100 at the far side of the hole 94 and if any cap tends to tip over, the saddle-shaped offset 100 holds the end of cap until the base falls into the hopper in an upright position.

During loading, the detent 62 will normally be in the position shown in FIG. and after the desired number of caps have been introduced into the tubular hopper 40, they may be held therein, as by a cotter pin 104 (FIG. 6) so that the hopper and its contents may be handled freely without danger of loss of any of the caps therefrom.

I claim:

1. An automatic primer cap feeder for a shotgun shell reloader having a relatively reciprocable tool carriage and work support, guide means for accommodating relative movement of the carriage and tool support in a direction of approach, such feeder including a tubular hopper adapted to receive a stack of primer caps, bracket means for mounting said hopper on the tool carriage of the loader, and escapement means for discharging a single primer cap from the hopper upon each relative reciprocation between the carriage and work support, said escapement means comprising a lever in pivotal connection with the hopper and extending toward the work support and having a free end portion externally of the hop per formed with a cam, said free end portion also being provided with a finger normally disposed in the path of the lowermost cap in the hopper, said finger being retractable from said path when said lever oscillates upon its pivotal connection with the hopper, and a surface on the work support in the path of the said free end portion of the lever and directly engaged by said cam during relative approach of the carriage and work support.

2. A primer cap feeder for a shotgun shell reloader which includes a work-supporting table which has a shell confining annulus and a carriage reciprocable in advance to and withdrawal from said table, the feeder including a bracket adapted to be mounted on the carriage, a tubular hopper of such dimensions as to be adapted to receive a stack of primer caps, the tubular hopper being mounted on the bracket at an oblique angle respecting the table and having its lower margin beveled respecting the table, the annulus intervening between the lower end of the hopper and the table and having an aperture with which the said hopper margin registers in an advanced position of the carriage, said aperture being adapted to receive a single cap for support on the table in an upright position and to which the next successive cap in the hopper is angularly related, means connected with the hopper for providing a pintle, and an escapement lever pivoted on the pintle and provided with a free end below the pintle having a displacement cam on a margin remote from the hopper, the free end of the lever being biased toward the hopper and having a finger projecting toward the hopper and receivable in the angle between a cap deposited through said aperture and the next successive cap within the hopper for the support of the next successive cap and the stack of caps thereabove when the hopper is withdrawn with said carriage from a cap deposited onto the table, and means disposed in the path of the cam as the hopper advances with the carriage for co-acting with said cam for deflecting said lever for the withdrawal of said finger in the descent of the hopper to discharge the lowermost cap of said stack through the aperture of said annulus onto the table, said finger re-entering the hopper to engage beneath the next successive cap in the stack upon withdrawal of the hopper with said carriage.

3. The combination with a tubular hopper adapted to receive a stack of caps, of means for loading the hopper comprising a shallow pan into which caps may be placed and which is provided with an opening in one corner, means for mounting the pan on the hopper with said aperture in registry with the hopper, the said pan having side and end marginal flanges, the end flange being provided with a notch spaced from the side flange for a distance less than the width of two caps, and a tool pivotally and reciprocably engaged in the notch and constituting a strap provided with a hook, the notch being sufficiently close to said aperture so that said pivoting strap and hook will form a single line of caps, the reciprocation of said tool being adapted to advance successive caps into registry with the aperture the tool holding the caps in said single line against the side flange of the pan, and the tool being withdrawn through the notch so that said hook propels the caps in said line toward the aperture as the tool is reciprocated through the notch.

4-. In a shotgun shell reloader, the combination with a table and a carrier having means mounting them for relative reciprocation in a direction of approach and withdrawal, of a feeder operable across the table and provided with a pocket, means for delivering a primer cap into the pocket and comprising an obliquely inclined primer cap storage hopper provided with a bracket connected with the carrier whereby relative movement occurs between the hopper and the table and feeder, said bracket mounting the hopper in a position in which the lowest cap is marginally exposed proximate the feeder and in registry with said pocket in the final position of relative approach of the carrier and table, that side of the hopper which is uppermost when so mounted being provided adjacent its lower end with a lateral opening, means mounted on the last-mentioned side of the hopper for providing a pintle, an escapement lever pivoted on the pintle and provided with a free end having a finger normally extending through said opening into the path of the lowermost cap within the hopper, said lever free end also having a cam surface, and means connected with the table and disposed in a position to be engaged by the cam surface of said finger and constituting means for oscillating the lever about said pintle to withdraw the finger from said path for delivering a primer cap from said hopper into said pocket.

5. A combination according to claim 4 in which the hopper has a flared upper margin, a charging device for delivering primer caps into the hopper to constitute a stack of caps therein, said device including a shallow pan in which caps may be placed, said pan having a delivery port adjacent one corner and having supporting means detachably engaged with the flared upper margin of the hopper for holding the ported corner of the pan in registry with the hopper, the pan including side and end flanges proximate its ported corner, the end flange having a notch spaced from the side flange by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of a cap, and a tool comprising an elongated strap reciprocable and oscillatable in the notch and movable across the pan toward the side flange and toward the port in engagement with caps placed on the bottom of the pan, said tool having a hook projecting toward said side flange for engaging and propelling toward the port said caps confined between the tool and the side flange of the pan.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1891 Robbins 221-93 9/1937 Sharp 221-210 12/1952 Stewart 86-46 6/1957 Lyman et al 86-38 11/1960 Salo 86-36 4/1964 Dicken 86-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/ 1959 Canada.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC PRIMER CAP FEEDER FOR A SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER HAVING A RELATIVELY RECIPROCABLE TOOL CARRIAGE AND WORK SUPPORT, GUIDE MEANS FOR ACCOMMODATING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE CARRIAGE AND TOOL SUPPORT IN A DIRECTION OF APPROACH, SUCH FEEDER INCLUDING A TUBULAR HOPPER ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A STACK OF PRIMER CAPS, BRACKET MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID HOPPER ON THE TOOL CARRIAGE OF THE LOADER, AND ESCAPEMENT MEANS FOR DISCHARGING A SINGLE PRIMER CAP FROM THE HOPPER UPON EACH RELATIVE RECIPROCATION BETWEEN THE CARRIAGE AND WORK SUPPORT, SAID ESCAPEMENT MEANS COMPRISING A LEVER IN PIVOTAL CONNECTION WITH THE HOPPER AND EXTENDING TOWARD THE WORK SUPPORT AND HAVING A FREE END PORTION EXTERNALLY OF THE HOPPER FORMED WITH A CAM, SAID FREE END PORTION ALSO BEING PROVIDED WITH A FINGER NORMALLY DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF THE LOWERMOST CAP IN THE HOPPER, SAID FINGER BEING RETRACTABLE FROM SAID PATH WHEN SAID LEVER OSCILLATES UPON ITS PIVOTAL CONNECTION WITH THE HOPPER, AND A SURFACE ON THE WORK SUPPORT IN THE PATH OF THE SAID FREE END PORTION OF THE LEVER AND DIRECTLY ENGAGED BY SAID CAM DURING RELATIVE APPROACH OF THE CARRIAGE AND WORK SUPPORT. 